Public speaking does not necessarily mean giving a long lecture or speech in front of a lot of people – it can range from taking an oral exam to simply speaking in a discussion based course. Please read below to learn about basic public speaking challenges, tips and strategies to use for organization, practice and presentation.

Instances at Wesleyan that require public speaking

Class presentations

Asking questions in class

TIP: jot down something the night before class (questions or key points), jot down what you want to say in class right before you say it

Participating in student groups

Presenting research

Performances

Reasons why some people struggle

Lack of preparation

Specific learning disabilities and/or physical challenges

English is a second language

Lack of practice

Extremely shy and introverted

Feeling that they do not have anything worthwhile to contribute

Tips and Strategies:

Prepare!

Practice out loud, in front of a mirror or a group of friends, video tape yourself

Don’t write an outline of every word – this helps to engage your audience rather than reading direction from PowerPoint, index cards, outlines, etc.

Know your material – people can tell if you don’t

Organize your talk

Structure:

tell audience what you’re going to say,

tell audience

tell audience what you said

Make sure to include a clear intro and conclusion

Body Language

Avoid fidgeting and pacing

Keep hand gestures to a minimum – use to underscore important points

Move around with a purpose – know why you are moving from point A from point B rather than pointlessly pacing

Hold eye contact – move your eyes and head slowly from the left, to the center, to the right in order to engage your audience in what you’re trying to say

Remember about the people in the back and the corners

Be conscious of your voice!

Pitch = the range of your voice, from low to high

Speak in the mid-low range of your voice

Avoid going up at the end of sentences so that they sound like questions

Be aware of your VOLUME

Fill the corners of the room

Speak as if you’re speaking to the farthest person in the room

Avoid dropping off at the end of your sentences, so that none of your words are lost

Be aware of your SPEED

Slow down & pause if necessary, make sure your words are understandable

Avoid speeding up because you’re excited or nervous

Enunciate – be sure to say the ending of each word

Speech Habits

Avoid “umm,” “you know,” “like,” “kind of,” “so, yeah”

People use these to allow their thoughts to catch up to their speaking, but pauses are okay! So just pause.